Ministers approve bill to prevent parents from leaving kids in car

Teachers will have to call parents whose children did not come to school or preschool in the morning, according to a bill.

A child leans out the window of a moving car 370.
(photo credit:REUTERS)

Teachers will have to call parents whose children did not come to school or
preschool in the morning, according to a bill approved by the Ministerial
Committee for Legislation Sunday.

The bill, proposed by Knesset Committee
for Children’s Rights chairwoman Orly Levy- Abecassis (Likud Beytenu), is meant
to prevent parents from accidentally leaving their children in their cars, which
has led to deaths in the past, including one last week.

“This important
bill is the result of many cases in recent years in which children were
forgotten in parents’ cars and on buses to schools,” Levy- Abecasis
explained.

Between the years 2008 and 2013 police received over 180
reports of children abandoned in vehicles, and 11 of them ended in death, she
added.

“A quick roll call and timely report to parents can prevent many
cases of death,” Levy- Abecasis posited, pointing out that several schools
already contact parents when pupils do not arrive at school.

The Likud
Beytenu MK pointed out that there are smartphone applications and other
technology that can save lives by warning parents that their children are still
in the car.

Levy-Abecasis said her bill can help children who do not turn
up to school for other reasons as well.

“The requirement to report
[absences] will bring up issues and allow educators to identify problems on time
before they deteriorate to the point where the child no longer goes to school,
which can lead to juvenile delinquency, drugs, alcohol and more,” she said.